Multiple different configurations of circuit boards exist in electronic packaging, along with the corresponding electrical connection technology. Some circuit boards provide for an insulated carrier having traces along one or more of the surfaces, for example top or bottom, and electrical connectors may be mounted thereto in electrical connection with these traces. Many different component mounting methods exist, for example through-hole connection or surface mount connection.
Other types of printed boards exist which carry power through the board or provide a thermally dissipative path through the board. In one example, aluminum cladding is provided with an insulative overlay, and then circuit traces are provided on the insulative overlay, for example, through an additive or subtractive plating process. In such an architecture, components are typically surface mounted to the conductive traces top of the board. In the case of a connector header, the mating pins normally extend from the top of the board. It would be advantageous to allow for surface mount header placement yet project the header pins through the board and through the aluminum cladding to allow a connector to mate on the underside of the board. Further, a single header could be dual-configured to allow placement as a conventional header on top of the board or placed such that the pins project downwardly through the board.